Bible Strands
2 Samuel 22:15
He shot His arrows and scattered the foes; He hurled lightning and routed them.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — David declares Yahweh’s intervention to rescue him from his enemies, placing the event within a poetic theophany. The declaration follows a description of the Lord thundering from heaven and precedes an account of the earth’s foundations being exposed.
The words — The Hebrew verbs וַ/יִּשְלַ֥ח (va/i.yish.Lach) and וַ/יְפִיצֵ֑ם (va/y.fi.Tze/m) literally mean “and he sent” and “and he scattered.” These terms describe the active deployment of arrows and the dispersal of hostile forces.
The thread — The imagery of divine arrows and routed enemies appears in Deuteronomy 32:23, Joshua 10:10, and Habakkuk 3:11. These passages consistently use martial and cosmic language to depict God’s direct action against opposing forces.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that deliverance originates from divine action rather than human strategy. It requires the reader to acknowledge that opposition is overcome through God’s sovereign intervention.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And he sent out arrows, and scattered them; lightning, and discomfited them.
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 32:23 I will heap disasters upon them; I will spend My arrows against them.
- Joshua 10:10 And the LORD threw them into confusion before Israel, who defeated them in a great slaughter at Gibeon, pursued them along the ascent to Beth-horon, and struck them down as far as Azekah and Makkedah.
- Habakkuk 3:11 Sun and moon stood still in their places at the flash of Your flying arrows, at the brightness of Your shining spear.
- Psalms 7:12 If one does not repent, God will sharpen His sword; He has bent and strung His bow.
- Psalms 18:14 He shot His arrows and scattered the foes; He hurled lightning and routed them.
- Psalms 45:5 Your arrows pierce the hearts of the king’s foes; the nations fall beneath your feet.
- Psalms 144:6 Flash forth Your lightning and scatter them; shoot Your arrows and rout them.